What is an anxiety disorder

Anxiety disorder is a term for some types of mental illnesses causing feelings of unease, worry, and fear.

Anxiety disorder symptoms

Here are the most common signs and symptoms of anxiety disorder:

• Feeling nervous, restless or tense
• Feeling a sense of impending danger, panic or doom
• Increased heart rate
• Rapid breathing (hyperventilation)
• Sweating
• Trembling
• Feeling weak or tired
• Trouble concentrating or thinking about anything except present worry
• Have sleep problems
• Experiencing gastrointestinal (GI) problems
• Having difficulty controlling worry
• Having the urge to avoid things that trigger anxiety

Types of anxiety disorders

There are several types of anxiety disorder. And each has there unique symptoms and modes of treatment. They are:

Generalized anxiety disorder

General anxiety disorder causes worry or fear that gets worse over time. It will affect your social life, your job, and day-to-day activities. Seniors with severe cases of GAD become withdrawn and reclusive.

Here are the most common symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder:

• Excessive, uncontrollable worry/anxiety
• Edginess, nervousness, or restlessness
• Chronic fatigue or tires out fast
• Irritable or low-fused
• Poor sleep quality or difficulty falling/staying asleep
• Tense muscles

Phobia

To-date, there are 530 phobias.

Panic disorder

Panic disorder is a mental health issue causing sudden and intense fear. It is often accompanied by heart palpitation, shaking, sweating, and breathing difficulties.

Some of the symptoms of panic disorder are:

• Sudden, repeated bouts of intense fear
• Feeling powerless or out of control
• Persistent worry about the “next” attack
• Fear of situations that caused previous panic attacks

Social anxiety disorder

This is a phobia for certain social situations that make you feel embarrassed. It makes you feel rejected, looked down upon, or judged.

This disorder makes you feel like a country bumpkin in the company of the rich and famous.

Symptoms of social anxiety disorder include the following:

• Extreme anxiousness about being with others
• Difficulty talking to others in social situations
• Self-consciousness in social settings
• Fear of being judged, humiliated, or rejected
• Fear of offending others
• Avoiding social situations
• Difficulty with friendships
• Feeling queasy around other people
• Sweating, blushing or shaking around others

Post-traumatic disorder (PTSD)

PTSD is often a result of a traumatic experience that threatened safety or survival.

This mental health disorder is common victims of a horrifying accident or war. And it affects their peace of mind and quality of life.

Some symptoms of PSTD are:

• Emotional numbness
• Flashbacks to the event
• Nightmares
• Depression
• Irritability
• Easily distracted or startled
• Anger

Obsessive-compulsive disorder

This mental health issue causes uncontrolled, recurring thoughts (obsessions), or rituals (compulsions).

Examples of obsessive-compulsive disorder are the unnecessary washing of hands. Or frequent checking if the lights on the porch or on or off, or folding clothes in a particular way.

Anxiety disorder among seniors

• Panic attacks
• Headaches
• Heart palpitation
• Increase in blood pressure
• Undue fatigue and irritability
• Upset stomach
• Muscle aches and pains

Anxiety disorder risk factors

Anxiety disorder can happen to anyone at any age. But seniors are more prone to it because of the following risk factors:

• General feelings of poor health or physical handicaps
• Sleeping problems
• Medical issues like COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), certain cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, thyroid disease, etc.
• Side effects from certain medications
• Substance abuse, i.e., alcohol, drugs
• Stressful events like the death of a spouse, serious medical condition, or other life-altering events
• Traumatic or difficult childhood

Treatment of anxiety disorder

There are different methods of treating anxiety disorder. But they are all decided on by your doctor, and how it has affected your daily activities.

To-date, these are often used:

Psychotherapy

This often called “talk therapy,” “cognitive therapy,” or “psychological counseling.” Regardless of the term, they all mean the same thing – working with a therapist to reduce anxiety symptoms.

In this treatment method, the therapist teaches you several skills to allow you to manage your problem. The endgame is for you to go back to normal again.

Psychotherapy is a short treatment process. The purpose is to remove your symptoms and build upon your initial successes.

Antidepressants

Antidepressants are drugs used for treating major depressive disorders like an anxiety disorder. These are all dispensed under a doctor’s prescription.

Some examples are Buspirone, Benzodiazepines, Lexapro, Cymbala, etc.

Lifestyle changes

Psychotherapy and medications may be good approaches to anxiety disorder problems, but may not be the best. Sometimes, simple lifestyle changes are all that’s needed, like:

• Being active by developing a routine that makes you busy most days of the week. Start slow then build up the intensity of your activities.
• Have enough sleep at night. Consult your doctor if you have sleeping problems.
• Using relaxation exercises that put your mind at ease and relaxed. Good examples are deep breathing, meditation, and yoga.
• Eating healthy foods known to reduce anxiety. Good examples are fruits, vegetables, whole grains, fish, etc.
• Reduce alcohol consumption and other recreational drugs that worsen anxiety
• Quit smoking and cut back or quit drinking coffee. Both nicotine and caffeine can worsen anxiety.

Coping with anxiety disorder

“The mind of man is capable of anything.” — Joseph Conrad

~oOo~

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